Apple increases product warranty to 2 years across Europe

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In late December last year Apple got hit with a $1.2 million fine by the Italian courts for misleading consumers. The issue stemmed from Apple’s one-year limited warranty combined with sales of the AppleCare Protection Plan.

What Apple had been doing is offering customers a paid-for Protection Plan to extend their product warranty to 2 years. The problem is, under EU law the 2-years should come as standard in the country. The courts decided Apple was breaking consumer laws and handed them the $1.2 million fine. Apple was left considering what to do next.

Four months later and Apple has failed in its attempts to have the fine payment suspended. Apple has now agreed to introduce 2 year warranties on its products for those countries covered by EU consumer law. That means by default a new Apple product will be covered for 2 years. It also means that taking out AppleCare can extend that to 3 years.

Although Apple has been told to pay the fine (again) the company still intends to appeal the decision in May. Regardless of the outcome, at least this action has resulted in extended warranty coverage for Europeans purchasing Apple products. However, it’s important to remember the 2 year coverage is for products bought from Apple’s official stores or online store. If you purchase Apple products from another retailer you need to find out what their warranty is.

Outside of the European Union nothing has changed and unless stated otherwise Apple will continue to offer its one-year limited warranty with extensions available through AppleCare.